For those of you who have never tried to make gluten free cookies, I have to say, it isn’t the easiest task, especially when one is trying to replicate a favourite holiday treat.A few years ago, I came across this one recipe that is intended to be a paleo based recipe, but since I don’t follow that way of eating (or have all the ingredients it called for) I made some substitutions and voila! This recipe uses almond meal (aka almond flour) which gives the cookies a nutty flavour but also boosts the protein and fibre content as well as the calories, so beware! Following a gluten free way of eating can be low in fibre, which isn’t the most ideal. By using nut and legume/pulse flours in baking/cooking, this can help boost the poor nutrient dense flours and help boost your intake! Who knew? Now, not all flours can be substituted 1:1 but if you are interested in starting to add some much needed fibre to your diet, take a look at the recipe for these cookies. I would also recommend checking out www.pulsecanada.com and www.lentils.org for some delicious baking recipes using pulses/legumes!!

Recipe (original recipe from www.fedandfit.com)3 cups almond meal, sifted1 cup dark chocolate chips​1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped1/4 teaspoon sea salt​1/2 tsp baking soda1/3 cup honey2 tablespoons butter, melted1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 eggDirections:​1 - Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F​2 - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil3 - In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients together with a fork. Includes: almond meal, salt and baking soda​4 - Add the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts to the dry mixture and stir evenly​5 - In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together (honey, butter, vanilla extract and egg)​6 - Make a crater in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the whisked wet ingredients​7 - Stir the wet ingredients in the dry and until evenly mixed​8 - Using a 1 tablespoon scoop or a spoon, spoon out balls of the dough and align them on the baking sheet​9 - Use either the palm of your hand or the back of a greased spoon, press down the cookies as they will not expand much during baking​10 - Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.